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Boat Chase Ends with Seizure of More than $2 Million Off the Coast of Puerto Rico


FILE - U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents hold a news conference in Donna, Texas, May 2, 2019.
FILE - U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents hold a news conference in Donna, Texas, May 2, 2019.

Law enforcement officials are trying to identify the people who dumped more than $2 million overboard during a boat chase off the coast of Puerto Rico.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the money was found Monday in bags, near the popular tourist island of Vieques, just east of Puerto Rico’s main island.

Last July, customs police seized more than $3 million dollars from an abandoned boat off the coast of Puerto Rico.

Customs and Drug Enforcement agents spotted the boat heading toward the U.S. Virgin Islands with no lights, when it abruptly turned back to Puerto Rico, where police followed the boat and found people unloading duffel bags.

The unidentified people on the boat fled when police arrived, leaving their cargo.

Both seizures have similarities to drug trafficking activity.

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